Infrared heating works well in old church buildings, but can look out of place in a heritage setting. The Everything Electric show tells the story of how one church looked for a bespoke solution, and heating company Herschel is now selling their idea to churches across Europe.
Bigger wind farms need ever bigger cranes, and the Chinese engineering firm XCMG has just broken its own world record for the 7th time.
3.5% of the world’s forest land is plantations, but in Japan that rises to 44%. That’s a unique context for rewilding, as described recently by Inside Climate News.
London’s mayoral elections are coming up, and the Green Alliance reports on the progress since the last one – considerable, as it turns out. London is genuinely greener, with more to go.
The Science Museum has opened a new climate exhibition called the Adani Green Energy Gallery. Learning from the debacle over Shell, BP and Equinor sponsoring previous climate exhibitions, this one is sponsored by Adani Green Energy. Unfortunately Adani also run airports, cement factories, and coal power plants across India. So still a PR own goal, but in off the bar this time.
The Easter holidays have arrived. After a busy few weeks and some new challenges when I return (more on that later), I’ll be taking a break from the website for a couple of weeks. I will read some fiction and try and ignore the news. The climate crisis will still be here when I get back.
Highlights from this week
Electoral reform for the climate?
It’s a big year for elections – possibly the biggest in history. Half the world is due to vote in 2024, including major elections in India, the US, and Brazil. Putin was also “re-elected” recently. Here in the UK, we’ll be going to the polls when the Conservatives realise they can’t possibly leave it any…
Highway removal for urban renewal
When I was a student I lived in a residential hall that was divided from the rest of the university by transport infrastructure. All the infrastructure in fact. The university library was about 200 yards away, but there was a canal, two railway tracks and six lanes of traffic in between. It divided my neighbourhood,…
Book review: Possible, by Chris Goodall
Chris Goodall runs the Carbon Commentary newsletter, and is the author of The Switch and What We Need to Do Now. Possible is another example of his clear explanations of what sustainability requires, this time taking a global look at net zero targets. The general route to net zero is pretty well understood: electrify everything,…
The Earthbound Report 
Thank you as always for the thoughtful recommendations and for the update. Hope you all are doing well. It’s wise to unplug. Wanted to let you know that the book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer is a wonderful read. Written for a young person, perhaps but also perfect for a tired professional adult. Thank you!!!